Sealing gasket for cylindrical alkaline battery and cylindrical alkaline battery

Abstract

A resin sealing gasket 10 to be incorporated in an alkaline battery 1 housing a power generation element (3 to 5) in a cylindrical battery can 2 closed at a bottom, the sealing gasket configured to insulate a top opening of the battery can and a negative electrode terminal plate 7 from each other. The sealing gasket includes: an outer periphery part 14 standing upward from the rim of a disc-shaped partition part 13; a boss part 11 in a hollow cylindrical shape enabling a rod-shaped negative electrode current collector 6 to stand at the center of the partition part; and a thin-walled portion 15 formed in a groove shape along the outer periphery of the boss part and being thinner than other portions of the partition part.

Claims

1. A cylindrical alkaline battery comprising: an annular positive electrode mixture; a cylindrical separator closed at a bottom, the separator disposed inside the positive electrode mixture; a negative electrode gel disposed inside the separator; a cylindrical battery can closed at a bottom and open at a top; a negative electrode terminal plate fitted in an opening end portion of the battery can; and a rod-shaped negative electrode current collector, the positive electrode mixture, the separator, the negative electrode gel being housed in the cylindrical battery can as a power generation element, the negative electrode terminal plate being fitted in the opening end portion of the battery can, with a sealing gasket interposed therebetween to insulate the opening end portion of the battery can and the negative electrode terminal plate from each other, wherein the sealing gasket includes: an upper side and a lower side corresponding to an upper side and a lower side of the battery can, respectively; a resin boss part formed in a hollow cylindrical shape in the vertical direction, such that the negative electrode current collector can stand upright by being press-fitted into the boss part; a disc-shaped partition part coupled to an outer periphery of the boss part; an outer periphery part projecting upward from an outer rim of the partition part; and an annular thin-walled portion formed in the partition part, the annular thin-walled portion having a groove shape and encircling the boss part so as to be concentric with the boss part, the thin-walled portion being formed in a region opposed to the negative electrode gel in the partition part, the thin-walled portion being a portion of reduced thickness thinner than another region in the partition part, the region opposed to the negative electrode gel in the partition part including an annular breakage region formed around the outer periphery of the boss part, with the thin-walled portion formed around the outer periphery of the breakage region, the breakage region having a thickness greater than a thickness of the thin-walled portion and occupying at least 25% of a projected area of entirety of the region opposed to the negative electrode gel when viewed from the vertical direction, wherein the thin-walled portion has a thickness such that the thin-walled portion fractures when a pressure inside the battery can reaches a predetermined pressure, such that substantially the entire breakage region ruptures thereby preventing the negative electrode gel from contacting the positive electrode mixture, the entirety of the region opposed to the negative electrode gel excluding the thin-walled portion has a constant thickness, the breakage region has a thickness of 0.3 mm or less but greater than 0.2 mm and the thin-walled portion has a thickness of 0.15-0.2 mm, and the region opposed to the negative electrode gel is bent at an angle to the separator.

2. The cylindrical alkaline battery according to claim 1, wherein the battery is an LR6 size or smaller.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a structure of an alkaline battery.

(2) FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a sealing structure in an alkaline battery.

(3) FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an explosion-proof safety mechanism in an alkaline battery.

(4) FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a sealing gasket in an alkaline battery.

(5) FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a fractured state of a sealing gasket.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(6) In describing embodiments illustrated in the drawings, specific terminology is employed for the sake of clarity. However, the disclosure of this patent specification is not intended to be limited to the specific terminology so selected, and it is to be understood that each specific element includes all technical equivalents that have the same function, operate in a similar manner, and achieve a similar result.

(7) Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals designate identical or corresponding parts throughout the several views thereof, a sealing gasket for a cylindrical alkaline battery and the cylindrical alkaline battery according to embodiments of the present disclosure are described. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an”, and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

Explosion-Proof Safety Mechanism

(8) As mentioned above, in the sealing gasket 10 of the alkaline battery 1, when the pressure inside the battery can 2 rises to a predetermined pressure in the state where the sealing gasket 10 is incorporated in the battery can 2, that pressure fractures the groove-shaped thin-walled portion 15. However, the thin-walled portion 15 opens in a form of a narrow groove, and thus the gas causing the rise in internal pressure can be released but the negative electrode gel 5 trying to flow out together with the gas is blocked by the partition part 13.

(9) Accordingly, the present disclosure has assumed that the negative electrode gel 5 could be guided above the partition part 13 of the sealing gasket 10, if it is possible to fracture the thin-walled portion 15 first and then fracture a portion other than the thin-walled portion 15 in the partition part 13 as well from the fractured thin-walled portion as a starting point, thereby opening the partition part 13 not in a linear manner but in a planar manner. Then, the present disclosure has intensively worked on a structure to fracture the thin-walled portion 15 first and opening the partition part 13 in a planar manner when the internal pressure of the battery can 2 rises, and has achieved the present disclosure.

Embodiment

(10) An embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to accompanying drawings. Note that in the drawings used in the following description, identical or similar parts are designated by identical reference numerals, and overlapping description may be omitted. In some of the drawings, unnecessary reference numerals may be omitted for the sake of explanation.

(11) A sealing gasket 10 of an alkaline battery 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure (hereinafter also referred to as the sealing gasket 10) has a shape and basic structure similar to those of the sealing gasket 10 used in the alkaline battery 1 illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. However, the thickness of the region 16 opposed to the negative electrode gel 5 in the partition part 13 of the sealing gasket 10 is optimized. As a result, even when the internal pressure of the battery can 2 abruptly rises, the partition part 13 is opened (hereinafter also referred to as break/breakage) in a planar manner, without blockage in the fractured thin-walled portion 15, so that the negative electrode gel 5 can be reliably guided above the partition part 13.

(12) FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the explosion-proof safety mechanism provided by the sealing gasket 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 4 is an enlarged longitudinal cross-sectional view of the upper end side of the alkaline battery 1. The sealing gasket 10 in this embodiment is formed such that part or the entirety of the region 16 opposed to the negative electrode gel 5 in the partition part 13 in the state where the sealing gasket 10 is incorporated in the alkaline battery 1, has a predetermined thickness or smaller. Accordingly, when the thin-walled portion 15 fractures due to a rise in internal pressure of the battery can 2, the region having the predetermined thickness or smaller (hereinafter also referred to as the breakage region) cracks from the fractured part of the thin-walled portion 15. As a result, a part of the partition part 13 is ripped to be opened and/or a part of the partition part 13 is ruptured, resulting in a hole, so that the partition part 13 becomes a broken state where it is opened in a planar manner.

(13) <Thickness of Breakage Region>

(14) First, in order to obtain thicknesses that ensure breakage of the partition part 13, a plurality of types of the sealing gasket 10 for an LR6 alkaline battery differing from each other in the thickness of the breakage region are prepared, and LR6 alkaline batteries 1 are prepared as samples by using these types of sealing gaskets 10, differing in the thickness of the aforementioned breakage region. Also, 20 samples using the same sealing gasket 10 are prepared for each type. Then, an explosion-proof safety test is conducted where each sample is charged with a current of 150 mA to fracture the thin-walled portion 15. Then, whether or not an internal short circuit has occurred is checked. Also, each sample having been subjected to the test is disassembled and the fractured state of the sealing gasket 10 is visually checked.

(15) Note that, in the sealing gasket 10 used in each sample, the breakage region has a constant thickness across the entire region excluding the thin-walled portion 15. The thickness of the thin-walled portion 15 is set to a predetermined thickness of 0.15 to 0.20 mm in accordance with the desired operating pressure at which the thin-walled portion 15 is to break, and here is set to 0.15 mm for all the sealing gaskets 10 in this test. The thickness of the thin-walled portion 15 is not limited to this thickness, as a matter of course, as long as the thin-walled portion 15 is formed to be thinner than other portions in the partition part 13 and configured to fracture prior to fracture of other portions in the partition part 13.

(16) Meanwhile, the sealing gasket 10 used in each sample has a configuration and structure similar to those in commercially available products (e.g., the alkaline dry battery 1 described in NPL 2 mentioned above) except the thickness of the breakage region. Specifically, the sealing gasket 10 is a molded product made of nylon 6-12, and an inner diameter ϕ of the separator 4 in FIG. 4, i.e., the opposed region 16 opposed to the negative electrode gel 5 in the sealing gasket 10 is set as ϕ=10 mm.

(17) Table 1 below shows the result of the explosion-proof safety test.

(18) TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Thickness of region excluding thin-walled Internal Sample portion in breakage short circuit State of fracture type region (mm) (%) of partition part 1 0.20 0 Broken 2 0.25 0 Broken 3 0.30 0 Broken 4 0.35 10 Only thin-walled portion was fractured 5 0.40 30 Only thin-walled portion was fractured

(19) As shown in table 1, in sample types 1 to 3 in which the thickness of the breakage region in the partition part 13 is 0.3 mm or smaller, no internal short circuit has occurred in any of the 20 samples in each sample type. Also, as for the state of fracture of the partition part 13, it has been found that cracking and/or chipping continued from the fractured part of the thin-walled portion 15 has occurred and resulted in breakage. On the other hand, in sample types 4 and 5 in which the thicknesses are 0.35 mm and 0.4 mm, respectively, an internal short circuit has occurred in 10% and 30% of 20 samples in these sample types, respectively. Further, when checking the state of fracture in the sealing gasket 10 of each of the sample types 4 and 5, it has been found that only the thin-walled portion 15 has been fractured while the partition part 13 has not been broken.

(20) FIG. 5 illustrates a state of fracture of the sealing gasket 10 in a sample having been subjected to the explosion-proof safety test. FIG. 5 is a diagram of a sealing member including a negative terminal plate 7, a negative electrode current collector 6, and the sealing gasket 10, when seen from below, and here illustrates the state of fracture of the sealing gasket 10 in a sample of the sample type 3. As illustrated in FIG. 5, in the sealing gasket 10 incorporated in the sample of the sample type 3, in which no short circuit has occurred in any of the samples, a large part of the region 16 opposed to the negative electrode gel 5 in the partition part 13 has been lost. In this example, substantially the entire region 16 opposed to the negative electrode gel 5 has been broken. A C-shaped part of the annular opposed region 16 surrounding the outer periphery of the boss part 11 has been fallen off, except for a remaining part thereof, so that the lower surface 7d of the negative terminal plate 7 has been exposed from a resultant C-shaped opening 20. It can also be found that the negative electrode gel 5 has been guided to the upper surface of the partition part 13 from the opening 20. Note that a fractured surface 21 of the broken region is hatched in FIG. 5.

(21) On the other hand, in the sealing gaskets 10 in the samples in which an internal short circuit has occurred, the partition part 13 has not broken and the negative electrode gel 5 has adhered to the partition part 13. Specifically, in the samples in which an internal short circuit has occurred, it has been found that the partition part 13 has not broken and only the thin-walled portion 15 has fractured in a linear manner, so that the negative electrode gel 5 has not passed through the fractured part of the thin-walled portion 15 but has damaged the separator 4 to flow out to the positive electrode mixture 3 side. As has been described above, the thickness of the breakage portion in the region 16 opposed to the negative electrode gel 5 in the partition part 13 of the sealing gasket 10 needs to be set to 0.3 mm or smaller so that the partition part 13 breaks when the explosion-proof safety mechanism of the alkaline battery 1 is activated.

(22) <Occupancy of Breakage Region>

(23) Next, LR6 alkaline batteries 1 are prepared using sealing gaskets 10 in which a part of the opposed region 16 is formed as a breakage region. Then, an explosion-proof safety test has been conducted on those alkaline batteries 1. Specifically, in FIG. 4, prepared are various sealing gaskets 10 that have a thickness of 0.3 mm or smaller in a region across a distance d2 (≤d1) from the inner periphery of the thin-walled portion toward the outer side, in a distance d1 from the inner periphery of the thin-walled portion to the outer periphery of the region 16 opposed to the negative electrode gel 5 in the partition part 13, i.e., to the position of the inner surface of the separator 4, and which differ from each other in the distance d2. In short, prepared are a plurality of types of sealing gaskets 10 that differ from each other in the ratio of the projected area of the breakage region having a thickness of 0.3 mm or smaller to the projected-area of the entire opposed region 16 when seen from the vertical direction (hereinafter, referred to as the occupancy). Then, LR6 alkaline batteries 1 are prepared, as samples, using these types of sealing gaskets 10, differing in the occupancy of the breakage region, and the above explosion-proof safety test has been conducted on these samples. In this example as well, 20 samples are prepared for each sample type. Table 2 below shows the occupancy of the breakage region and the result of the explosion-proof safety test.

(24) TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 Internal Sample Occupancy short circuit Type (%) (%) 6 10 35 7 15 40 8 20 15 9 25 0 10 30 0 11 40 0

(25) As shown in table 2, in sample types 9 to 11 in which the occupancy of the breakage region is 25% or greater, no internal short circuit has occurred in any of the 20 samples in each sample type. On the other hand, in sample types 6 to 8 in which the occupancy is 20% or smaller, there are some samples in which an internal short circuit has occurred. Also, of the sample types 6 and 7 having occupancy of 10% and 15%, respectively, the sample type 7 having the higher occupancy has a higher rate of occurrence of an internal short circuit. This indicates that when the occupancy is 15% or smaller, the breakage condition is not stable, which makes it more difficult to prevent an internal short circuit. From the results of the explosion-proof safety tests shown in Tables 1 and 2, it has been found that an internal short circuit can be reliably prevented when the region 16 opposed to the negative electrode gel 5 in the partition part 13 of the sealing gasket 10 includes a breakage region having a thickness of 0.3 mm or smaller and an occupancy of 25% or greater.

Other Embodiments

(26) In the sealing gasket 10 in an embodiment described above, the thin-walled portion 15 is formed along the outer periphery of the boss part 11. However, the thin-walled portion 15 only needs to be formed to be concentric with the boss part 11 in the region opposed to the negative electrode gel 5 in the state where the sealing gasket 10 is incorporated in the alkaline battery 1. Moreover, the breakage region only needs to be formed in an annular shape in abutment with the thin-walled portion 15. For example, an annular breakage region may be provided along the outer periphery of the boss part 11, and the thin-walled portion 15 may be provided along the outer periphery of that breakage region. Two breakage regions may be formed on the outer periphery side and the inner periphery side of the thin-walled portion 15 in the region opposed to the negative electrode gel 5 in the partition part 13. In other words, the breakage region may be divided by the thin-walled portion 15 into two annular regions on the inner periphery side and the outer periphery side.

(27) Note that the above embodiments are intended to facilitate the understanding of the present disclosure and not intended to interpret the present disclosure in a limited manner. The present disclosure can be changed and modified without departing from its gist, and the present disclosure includes equivalents thereof.

(28) For example, the configurations and structures of the sealing gaskets 10 in the above embodiments are not limited to LR6 alkaline batteries 1 but are applicable to any types of cylindrical alkaline batteries 1. It is only needed that a thin-walled portion 15 that fractures under a predetermined pressure and an annular breakage region in abutment with the thin-walled portion 15 are formed in the region opposed to the negative electrode gel 5 in the partition part 13.

(29) With the sealing gasket for a cylindrical alkaline battery according to the present disclosure, it is possible to prevent the negative electrode gel from flowing out into the region housing the positive electrode mixture, when the thin-walled portion fractures in the state where the sealing gasket is incorporated in the battery can and the gas inside the battery is released. Further, the alkaline battery according to the present disclosure comprising this sealing gasket is a battery in which an internal short circuit caused by contact between the negative electrode gel and the positive electrode mixture is unlikely to occur.